Escape
by Satsuki7
Summary: Megumi is constantly escaping. Whether it's from home, from Sword Art Online, or even herself. Follow her journey as she explores the prison she fears that she can never break. REWRITING CURRENTLY


**Disclaimer: Sword Art Online does not belong to me. As much as I wish it did, it doesn't.**

 **Author's note: Hi guys, this is my first fanfic, so thanks for reading! Reviews are very much appreciated.**

 **~~~~~UPDATED AS OF: 11-12-15~~~~~**

 **MAJOR update. Re-writing the story pretty much.**

 _Escape from Reality_

Sword Art Online. A new world. A place where she could start over. A place where Komatsu Mikasa didn't even exist. It was a gift from heaven itself. The nerve gear had taken up most of her secret savings, but that didn't matter. A chance to start over, to escape from reality was worth every penny, and more.

"Link Start!"

oOoOoOoOoOo

She opened her eyes and looked around at her environment. She stood on a raised, black circle in the middle of a room whose walls were made of screens with ever-shifting images. A voice spoke from all around her. A woman's voice.

"Welcome to Sword Art Online, the first MMORPG game. To begin your journey, create your username. This will be your name inside the game and cannot be changed." A hologram of a text box and keyboard appeared in front of her as the voice continued to speak. "Do not choose your real name. Keep in mind you will have an opportunity to look at and alter your entire profile after completion." She lifted her fingers to the keyboard, M-e-g-u-m-i. She couldn't help but smile to herself. She strongly believed in the power of names. With a new name, a new person. That was why she was here.

oOoOoOoOoOo

After about 15 minutes, she had finally designed her new appearance. Her hair was a fiery red-orange, with a side braid over her right shoulder. Several chin length strands framed the left side of her freckled face, contrasting her blue-green eyes. She'd added about 30 lbs. of weight to her body so she was no longer scrawny, but a girl who looked decently strong. Standing at 5'7", this girl was who she wished she was. Not the isolated scholar, but a strong confident person. A persona that she hoped she could emulate. She took a deep breath. She was ready, it wouldn't be too hard. After all, this was who she used to be, many years ago, when Otsuka Mikasa lived happily.

She touched the confirm button, and was enveloped in a bright white light. When she could see again, she couldn't believe it. It was a town square of a sort, surrounded by teens and adults alike.

"I'm here," she breathed. The place where no one knew her. Megumi smiled to herself. "Time to make my imprint on this world," she whispered, striding off into the town to begin her journey.

oOoOoOoOoOo

 _(That night)_

 _'The absence of a logout button is a feature of the game.'_

 _'If I die here I'll die in real life.'_

She wasn't sure what to think. Her first impression was that it was awful. 213 people already dead and it wasn't going to be better. That was the part of her that was humane. The part that wasn't completely and utterly selfish. But deep down, she knew a part of her was jumping for joy. She wouldn't have to leave, to see her parents. She could stay here forever, free from all constraints! It was more than she could have ever wanted.

And then... there was the cold, little voice in the back of her head that spoke words of undeniable logic. What would happen to her real body? It needed food to function. Even if they brought her to the hospital to keep her alive, it wouldn't last. A hospital bed required money. Her family might not be poor, but stingy they were. There was no guarantee that her family would pay money to keep her alive, especially if they thought it was a lost cause. Her best bet: get out as quick as possible. Self preservation came first.

Ever since the "announcement" ended, she'd been walking aimlessly around the town. Finding a river she sat on the bank, looking at her reflection in the water. She didn't look like Megumi anymore, now she was just Komatsu Mikasa. The cold, logical genius who she didn't want to be. Her now dusky blue-grey eyes were shadowed by her bangs, and her waist length hair was black and pulled into two loose pigtails. The girl who was always alone and isolated. The girl who lived for school.

She sighed. She looked like a ghost. Her skin was deathly pale from little exposure to sun, her eyes had bags underneath them from too many sleepless nights studying, and her cheeks were hollow from skipping a few too many meals. The little scrawny girl was back, but she would change that. She could, and she would. To survive, she needed to be stronger, and stronger she would become. She stood up. Pulling both of the ties out of her hair, she deftly put it up in a high ponytail. Standing tall, she looked out at the setting sun. She _would_ escape. She knew it.

oOoOoOoOoOo

 _(The next morning)_

She lay down on field just outside the Town of Beginnings. She couldn't sleep a wink and had spent the majority of the night gathering XP. Her brain was filled with way too much anxiety and stress to sleep. She missed her guitar. That was truly one of the only good things of the outside world. It would be difficult to find one here. Music was amazing. It brings people together, makes them smile. It relieved her mind. Stress would disappear, she could just lay back at let the music fill her body, heal her soul.

She pulled herself up. Might as well explore the town now that it's day.

oOoOoOoOoOo

In the Town of Beginnings, she explored the shops, mainly for a new weapon. She'd been using a relatively cheap sword so far, but it was far too heavy and long. It was awkward to hold for such a weak girl. There weren't any decent user owned shops yet, so she'd have to settle for the weapons of the NPCs. After about an hour, she found something that felt right. Twin daggers. They were very plain, with a black handle and a silver blade about half the length of her forearm. Turning the weapons, she stared at her reflection in on of the blades. She really should find someone to change her appearance. Maybe dye her hair?

10 minutes later and Megumi was sporting a single electric blue highlight running through her ponytail. The change felt good. It was proof that she could be different, that it was possible. Now all she needed was to up her stats. Then, she could do her part to free everyone from the terror of this game.

oOoOoOoOoOo

 _(One month later)_

It had been one month. One month for 2,000 people to die. 2,000 people dead and not even one floor gained. What was with this game! What was with it's creator! Although it was nice to know that others had finally gotten their stuff together. She was currently lounging in the back of an open air auditorium waiting for the meeting about the first floor boss to start. Even if she didn't show it, she was excited. A boss fight. Progress. Some fellow named Diabel starting giving some sort of motivational speech. She yawned. ' _Booooring_ , _when do we get to the good stuff?'_ And just like that, the real stuff started happening,

"Divide into parties of 6. An ordinary party has no chance against a floor boss. We'll need to form a raid group using multiple parties." Megumi glanced around lazily. Uh oh. Not to many empty spots. Not wasting any time, she jumped down a few rows until she was just behind a group of 5. Bending down and tapping one of the boys on the shoulder, she smiled.

"Mind if I join your group?" He took a quick glance at the rest of his party, and when none made any complaint, he turned back to her.

"Sure, we were missing one anyway." The 5 players scooted aside to make room for one more in their circle, and Megumi plopped down. Looking around at the group, she noted 4 boys and 1 girl.

"Sooooo, who do I have the pleasure to meet?" she said, smiling. A rather short man with tousled brown hair from the opposite side of the circle stood up on his bench.

"Hellooo! I am the great Masaru-sama! Guild master, of the wonderful, but small, Guardians Guild!" He swept his hand around the circle, and bowed dramatically. He spoke almost so comically that Megumi had to giggle. "Here on my right, is the lovely Sayoko-chan!" A girl with bushy red hair in a ponytail waved, smiling at her master's antics. "Next to you is the mighty Jin-kun!" A relatively burly guy with a mop of maroonish purple hair saluted. Masaru then gestured to the other side of the circle at two boys who looked very similar, with freckles and bright green hair. "And finally, we have the amazing twins, Kazumi and Katsumi!" They smiled and laughed brightly. Masaru's mischievous blue eyes twinkled before turning towards Megumi. "Now my good dear, what might your name be?" Megumi smiled.

"I'm Megumi, pleased to make your acquaintance!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

 _(Later that day)_

This day was going to be a big one, in more days than one. A carpenter by the name of Tetsuo had agreed to try and make her a guitar after leveling up enough. He had told her to come back in two weeks and she was nearly dying with excitement. Today was the day she might be able to get her hands on a guitar.

Practically running into the shop, her eyes found Tetsuo manning the counter.

"Tetsuo-san, please... tell me it's ready" Megumi asked, breathless with excitement. Tetsuo laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, I finished it today, now breath easy." Megumi felt as if she could fly.

"You did! Thank you so much, you're the best!" she squealed, leaning over the counter and throwing her arms around his neck. He smiled kindly.

"Of course! Now, that'll be 10,000 Cor…" Megumi felt her stomach drop. Crap. Did she even have that much? She leaned back, and checked her stats nervously.

"Uh-uh, y-yeah… just l-let me check something…" Money: 10,034.12 Cor. Thank the gods. Megumi quickly made the trade. "Thanks again Tetsuo! See you around!" she said, walking out the door. Tetsuo laughed again.

"Anything for my best customer!"

oOoOoOoOoOo

It was getting late, but Megumi made a straight beeline for the river bank and sat down, pulling out her guitar. She gently stroked the strings, listening as the noise echoed over the water of the river. The sun was beginning to set, it's rays scattering over the water. It was beautiful, peaceful. Her fingers moved on their own, until the notes turned out to be the first song she'd ever wrote. It was a melancholy tune without words, with no particular theme or obvious pattern to the melody. Just a wandering phrase. It was rather analogous to her life, wasn't it? She played and played, until finally lying back and falling asleep under the stars.

oOoOoOoOoOo

 _(The next morning)_

The group stood outside of the boss room, and Megumi was burning with anticipation. This could be the first breakthrough in the entire game. The first month's efforts put to the test. The doors slowly opened, and everyone spread out. Diabel directed everyone and assumed the position of commander. Megumi and the Guardians were assigned to the right flank, and began to engage the Sentinels. Jin wielded a giant axe, dealing great damage but moving slowly while Masaru moved quickly and opened spaces for Jin. Kazumi and Katsumi moved perfectly together, each with a broad sword. Megumi ran to the nearest Sentinel, and threw open its defense with her knives before crouching down, allowing Sayoko to pierce it with throwing knives and needles.

Finally, the boss's HP had been reduced to the red, and it threw aside its original weapon in favor of a new one which Megumi was unfamiliar with.

"Stand back, I'll go!" Diabel shouted and rushed in. Another another player, a boy with black hair, yelled at him.

"No! Jump back as fast as you can!" but he was too far into his attack to stop. The boss attacked, dealing a mortal blow. Megumi's arms fell limp as she saw players crowd around Diabel. She wanted to do something, but was there anything she could do? There really wasn't. Just watch and wait for him to die. Despite the entire month she'd lived in the game, she had yet to see a person die, and it was horrible. She didn't even know Diabel, but it was still a loss of life. That was something Megumi was sure she didn't want to see again.

Suddenly, the black haired boy and a girl in a red cloak stood forward and began brutally attacking the boss. It was incredible. Everyone re-attacked with renewed vigour to give them breathing room, then they attacked one last time to finish it. She couldn't believe it. They'd won. And it was only because of those 2. They were the people who would free them all from this game. If she was going to do her part, she'd have to get to their level. Become someone who can be relied on, not someone who needs help and pity. That was her goal after all. And thus, the next chapter of her life began.

 **Author's note: First chapter done! Yay! I'm currently in the process of re-writing the next 2 chapters, so those will come up soon. I'll delete them for now so it's not confusing.**

 **Thanks for reading! Please tell me what you think! Until later,**

 **~Satsuki**


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